Researchers Evaluates Eco-service Value in a Typical Basin of Northwest Arid Area of China basing on Eco-economic Functional Regionalization

Manas River Basin oasis is the largest artificial oasis in northern Tianshan Mountains of Xinjiang, China with coordinated urban–rural development. It is the model of oasis exploitation and economic development in Xinjiang. In recent years, because of natural environment variation and population growth, the overall change of land use and land cover has taken place in the watershed, which has affected the oasis stability.

Manas River Basin oasis is the largest artificial oasis in northern Tianshan Mountains of Xinjiang, China with coordinated urban–rural development. It is the model of oasis exploitation and economic development in Xinjiang. In recent years, because of natural environment variation and population growth, the overall change of land use and land cover has taken place in the watershed, which has affected the oasis stability.

In order to estimate the eco-service values of different eco-economic functional areas in different periods and revealed the land use characters and reasons for ecosystem service value changes, this research analyzed land use changes of different eco-economic functional areas and estimated eco-service values in Manas River Basin during the period 1958–2006, by using the remote sensing (RS), geographical information system, ecological economy theory and the ecological sensitivity coefficient analysis.

The results showed that the land use pattern has changed greatly from 1958 to 2006. The area of farmland and industrial area increased rapidly, while the forest area, grassland, water area and unutilized area decreased greatly. The total eco-service value of the river basin decreased from 3,529.64 US$×10⁶ in 1958 to 2,559.88 US$×10⁶ in 2006. There existed apparent temporal and spatial changes in the eco-service values of different eco-economic functional areas, and this significant change in the eco-service values was driven by economic development. In view of eco-economic characteristics and ecological issues of various eco-economic functional areas, BAI Yuan et al. proposed relevant strategies of ecological conservation for enhancing the general eco-service value of the river basin and realizing the regional sustainable development.

The results provide scientific evidences for reasonable planning and ecological restoration of the river basin. The study was published in Environmental Earth Sciences in April 2014.